Chapter Nineteen

Max sat down at the computer and logged Danni off. She stared at the blank screen while finishing her yogurt.

Fang would be there soon. Max smiled to herself. Tonight was going to be fun; she had been dying to see the witch movie ever since she saw the preview.

The doorbell rang. Standing up Max threw out her yogurt cup and threw the spoon into the sink.

Just as she opened the door the doorbell rang for a second time.

"Hi," she said taking her jacket off the coat rack. "Ready?"

"Always," Fang said. He opened the storm door side and made a motion with his hands like one of the butlers from those old movies, "After you, milady."

Fang and Max made their way to the theater. Inside there was a very vintage atmosphere. Posters of movies from the mid 1900's hung around the walls. New movies had their posters outside and in a glass case inside the lobby.

As Fang paid- he had made Max give him her money for her ticket- Max looked around.

Walking out of a movie was a man with his wife. It couldn't be. They were the same couple that Max had seen been put into body bags. And the possibility that the two were really twins of the dead couple seemed so very far from possible.

"No way," was all Max was able to stutter.

Fang turned with two tickets in hand, "What?"

"They're dead," she pointed to the couple making their way to the exit.

"Uh, Max, they don't look dead to me," Fang said putting his arm on her back and gently pushing her toward the right theater room.

"I don't mean they are dead," Max said shaking Fang off. "I mean I say them being stuffed into body bags today. After we meet in the park."

At the moment the couple looked over to the two bird children. Their faces grew pale and they hurried out the door.

Max ran after them. Fang had no choice but to follow.

Outside it was cooling down. The couple was nowhere to be seen. Max turned in circles.

"Maybe they went the other way," Fang said. Just as he finished a net was thrown over his head.

"Fang!" Max screamed. Another net was thrown, this time over Max's head. "Let go!" she screamed as a pair of very strong arms encircled her.

"Shut up," a gruff voice said in a low threatening voice.

Fang and Max were hauled to a white van and stuffed inside. A loud clicking noise signaled that they were locked in.

---Meanwhile---

"This is very good," Danni said to Iggy as she placed her dish in the soapy sink.

Iggy bowed slightly, "Why thank you ever so much."

Danni laughed at his humor. She took the empty bowl from his hands and placed that into the sink too. She hugged him and kissed him on the mouth for the twelfth time that night.

As she pulled away her cat hearing picked up a noise from outside. Danni's whole body tensed.

"What?" Iggy asked. Then he knew that there was somebody outside too.

Before Iggy and Danni could do anything the door in the kitchen that led to the back yard flung open.

People rushed in with sparking electric probes. Before Iggy or Danni could fight them they were shot down by tranquilizers.

The two were dragged out to a white van and tossed into the back. Beside them were Fang, Max, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel.

"What the hell is going on?" Danni slipped before she could stop herself from saying hell. To her surprise Max didn't say anything but just kept staring ahead.

Danni realized that the others had the same tranquilizer in their necks. So maybe it wasn't a tranquilizer but something else?

---Hours Later---

"What happened," Gazzy asked. He struggled with the restraints of his chair.

The flock had awoken in chairs. They were tied down by leather restraints.

The confusing part was their memory. They remembered who they actually were. The whole enchilada or so they say.

The flock had been drugged to forget the school and how they met Danni and how she became a genetic cat girl. They were given new lives, but why?

Max and Danni weren't sisters, but they were convinced that they were by the drug. What was the deal?

A metal door opened to reveal Jordan.

"I would like to thank you all. The drug worked without serious effects. By the way that couple you saw die, Max, weren't really dead. You see the town is a practice center. The subjects practice missions in order to be deployed into the field, they need training and the town provides just that."

"So we were the ones to test your new drug? We are the lab rats?" Max asked with a freezing voice.

"Well we couldn't test on animals, the results would be very difficult to understand. But the bright side is that you won't have to do this again. Now you can focus on training," Jordan said smiling unaware of the defiant looks the flock were giving him.

Danni pulled free of the leather straps, "I think not!" She pounced on Jordan and pushed him to the floor. Before his head could impact on the floor and kill him Danni stopped him. Then she punched his head down with just enough force to knock him out without causing major damage.

Danni freed Iggy first then the two of them freed the rest of the flock.

"We have to get out of here. Now." Fang said looking around for an escape.

"Wait," Angle said picking up a pair of pliers. "Sorry, Max. This is going to hurt, but you'll heal."

"What are talking about," Max asked. Angel stepped up to her.

Angel plunged the pliers into Max's arm and dug deep. The sound of tearing muscle could be heard, but with in a few seconds Angel pulled what looked like a chip out from the wound.

"Angel!" Max practically screamed, "You're a genius!"

"Thank me later," Angel said.

"Right," Max said. She moved to the vent and popped the cover off. She quickly laid a hand on the metal. It was cool to the touch. "Yes," she whispered. "Okay, everyone follow me through the rabbit hole!"

The flock did as told. They went as fast as they could with out making too much noise. Soon Max was kicking the vent cover that lead outside to the ground.

They were a few yards from the ground so Iggy took Danni into his arms when he jumped out. The flock flew first away from the damn building.

"Were too now?" Nudge asked.

"I don't know," Max confessed.

Danni thought of something, "How 'bout Australia? Or maybe Japan. Or some other place where the school won't ever think of looking? Or anyone else who want to do inhumane experiments on us."

"How about France?" Max suggested. "My skills in French are good."

"Fluent or just passing?" Fang asked.

Max sighed, "How 'bout England? You know one of those towns that are not so populated. Or maybe to an isolated cottage?"

The possibilities were endless, but the point was all the same, leave the country. As long as they stayed they were in danger. No matter how many Schools they burned they would always be chased, at least in America. If they left they had a chance at a somewhat normal life.

In the end they agreed to go to England. The language wouldn't be an issue. They were going to hide out for a while. Long enough to pick up at least a glimmer of the accent. Then they would go to one of the small towns and start working. Angel, the Gasman, and Nudge would go to school though, probably. All they knew was that it would be a new start, a new leaf.

For the first time in a long time they had hope. They had hope and knew that it wasn't going to be taken away in an instant. They were happy. They were a family. And they were together.

The End

AN: Yes, this is the end of the story. Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing!

Cool-Wolf - Thank you for the review. And don't feel bad for revewing late at least you reviewed.